By Allyson O’Bryant

Over spring break three different teams entered three different cities all with one main goal in mind, share the Gospel and minister to those they meet. 

Boston Trip

The Boston team got oriented to the city, received context for the ministry of the church planters they would be serving with and went on a historical and spiritual tour of Boston, Massachutes. 

“It struck me as they [Jon Wood and Adam Hammet] told the story of how the place where the Gospel entered our country is now one of the darkest places in America,” said Lily Moodie, sophomore Nursing student. 

The team of twenty-two students and five leaders split into five groups to attend the five church plants. Afterwards the groups got to discuss how each church served in their neighborhood’s unique culture. 

Throughout the course of the trip they visited King’s Cross Church, Life Community Church, and Christ’s Church Charlestown where they had a Q and A, testimony time and helped pack Easter eggs for a community outreach event. 

A team also went with Braintree parish partners to help with their food pantry. 

“It was encouraging to see the deep positive roots that the church had on their community,” Moodie said.  

With the Friendship Initiative at Send Relief, they packed and distributed hygiene packets to care for both the spiritual and physical needs of the community. 

The team also met with the Sardonos,both of whom are Cedarville alumni, and heard their hearts for the church planting mission in Lower Mills and how they disciple those in their church’s neighborhood, where they attend City on a Hill at its Forest Hills location. 

As the team listened to two businessmen talk about how they make the marketplace their ministry, they were reminded that we don’t have to go far to find those to minister and love. 

“I appreciated Jason Tallent’s honesty about the hardships of earning a community’s trust and raising up committed disciples in a flaky world,” said Moodie. “He also broke my heart to hear how there were so few Gospel-preaching churches on the shore of Boston.” 

GenSend gave the team opportunities for next steps for those who are considering making Boston their home so they can minister to others here after graduation. 

“The Gospel should impact every part of our lives: friendships, big decisions, finances, time, and heart posture. My life should be centered around expanding and serving my local church so that the name of Christ may be magnified,” Moodie said. “The city of Boston cries out for hope, while forsaking to worship the Almighty. I pray that the Lord raises up our generation to love the lost and worship the Lord together.”   

Chicago Trip 

While Moodie’s team kept serving those in Boston another team was serving in Chicago, Illinois.  

Eighteen Cedarville students worked with Inner City Impact [ICI], a youth ministry organization that provides clubs and events for those in kindergarten through high school   The team’s main goal was working with the kids, helping during the clubs and events, and building relationships. 

“Many of the children we work with come from broken homes that have fallen victim to divorces, death, and toxic familial environments, so to be able to run around with a bunch of college students is something that they look forward to,” said team leader Stephanie Hamilton, junior Psychology major. 

The team’s other goal was to help ICI with work projects. The projects consisted of installing a new sound system, cleaning and organizing their storage floor and basement, and fixing various equipment. 

“These projects give us an opportunity to serve the staff of ICI, and get to know them better,” Hamilton said. “The staff was eager to work on these projects with us.” 

These clubs are similar to Sunday school or a youth group. The coordinators of the clubs planned scavenger hunts, gym games, and other special events, and the team enjoyed getting to experience these alongside the kids. 

While the team was in Chicago, ICI held one of their biggest events each year: a family game night. This allows the students to bring their parents or guardians for board games, dinner, and a big kahoot. ICI uses this event to get to know the students and their home life better and also for the guardians to connect with ICI. 

“Our team was able to connect with some of the families as well, which allowed us to get even closer with the kids after spending the week with them,” Hamilton said.  

The team could see how the Lord worked in their hearts and also the hearts of  the ICI staff and students. 

“This trip has continued to help me change and grow, and I got to see some of that change and growth in others. I am so excited to go back on this trip for fall break, and can not wait to see what the Lord has in store for that trip,” said Hamilton. 

Denver Trip 

Another team traveled farther out West to Denver, Colorado, as they too sought to serve. They began their journey by handing out Easter program invitations for Calvary Wellspring, opening the opportunity to share the Gospel and pray for those in the community. This led to someone inviting the team into their home where they were able to tell him about Jesus and pray for him. 

On Sunday, the team attended Calvary Wellspring’s church. Zach Forehand, one of the team leaders, preached from Matthew 8:19-22. 

“It was so good to see what a typical Sunday looked like for this church and attend their member’s meeting afterwards,” said Livvy Feinn, junior Biblical Studies major. 

The team worked with Pastor Gabe Reed at Calvary Summitview as he walked them through evangelism tactics and an overview of the town’s culture. 

The team later got into groups of two to three to evangelize door to door or to those they met at a nearby park. 

“Most of those people here are open to conversation, but their spirituality is all over the map.” Feinn said.  

They got to have conversations with atheists, sciencetologists, those who believed in a “higher power”, and others who believed in Salvation by good works. 

“It’s always a growing experience to defend and share your faith with people who think differently than you,” said Feinn. 

The pastor-elders from the Calvary churches let the team sit in on their weekly elder meeting, where they discussed the needs of their church members and how to know and love them better. 

They also worked with Kayla Horne, Executive Director of Jesus on Colfax. The team helped the volunteers visit the motels on East Colfax to hand out food, hear the people’s stories, and offer prayer. 

Feinn said, “It was an eye opening experience to love these friends that many people typically overlook.” 

The team went to Calvary Restoration and listened to Pastor Isaac Mahoney. They also spent time with Pastor Blake Burget from Calvary West Littleton and did door-to-door evangelism. 

“My heart of the lostness that exists in Denver has only grown, and I am seriously considering moving here after graduation to help bring the Gospel here,” said Feinn. “I’ve truly enjoyed every moment of this trip, and hope that more and more people come to Denver to experience it.” 

It is clear to see that while three Cedarville teams went to completely different places across America, God used them to fight against darkness to spread His light side by side.  

Allyson O’Bryant is a Freshman Professional Writing and Information Design major. When she’s not writing she can usually be found with her family, reading or listening to Adventures in Odyssey or her favorite Christian music.